Telangana: Activists, political leaders detained hours before VLF foundation ceremony

Cutting across political parties, leaders oppose VLF station project, citing many reasons, including adverse impact on flora and fauna in region

Vikarabad: Hours before the foundation ceremony for the Very Low Frequency (VLF) radar station at Damagundam, police took activists and political party leaders, opposing the project, into preventive custody.

Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and others would be participating in the foundation ceremony here on Tuesday.

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Cutting across political parties, leaders have been opposing the VLF station project, citing many reasons, including adverse impact on the flora and fauna in the region. They are also worried about the project’s impact on River Musi.

Sensing trouble from activists and political leaders, heavy police force has been deployed in the district since Monday. However, the leaders are being taken into custody to avoid any untoward incident.

AIKMS Vikarabad unit president Y Mahender Reddy, CPM district unit R Mahipal, POW State Secretary Y Geeta, Damagundam Parirakshana JAC Chairman D Gudem Venkatanna and others have been taken into custody, according to reports.

Former BRS MLA from Vikarabad Metuku Anand was also prevented from visiting a family, whose member had passed away. Videos of the former MLA being stopped by the police and asking him not to go further have been shared on different social media platforms.

In the videos, the former MLA is seen asking the police to board his vehicle so that they get clarity over the purpose of his visit. He even asked the police to take him to the family in their vehicle, in case of any doubts.